14 Days Morocco Private Tour: Casablanca to Marrakech

Route	Mohammed V Airport → Casablanca hotel
Distance (est.)	~35 km
Driving time (est.)	40–60 min
Suggested departure	On arrival
Meals included	None
Overnight	Casablanca
Pace	Very easy
Good to know	Share your flight number in advance so the driver is waiting at arrivals.

Your 14 days Morocco tour starts gently. Your driver meets you at arrivals, the air-conditioned vehicle is ready, and the hotel is a short ride away, so there is no rush after a long flight.

Once you have rested, head to the Hassan II Mosque, which juts out over the Atlantic. Even from the outside, the tall minaret and the mosaic work are worth the trip, and the Ain Diab Corniche nearby is a pleasant place for an easy evening walk. Entry to the mosque interior is ticketed and not included.

Moment to remember: the huge minaret standing over the Atlantic.

Route	Casablanca → Rabat → Chefchaouen
Distance (est.)	~330 km
Driving time (est.)	4½–5 h
Suggested departure	08:00
Leg breakdown (est.)	Casablanca–Rabat ~90 km (1–1¼ h); Rabat–Chefchaouen ~240 km (3¼–3¾ h)
Meals included	Breakfast
Overnight	Chefchaouen
Pace	Long but broken up
Good to know	The Rabat sites are close together. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a light jacket for the mountains.

Leave early for Rabat, Morocco’s calm capital. Start at the Kasbah of the Udayas, a hilltop fortress above the ocean with blue-and-white lanes and a quiet Andalusian garden, then see the unfinished Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.

After lunch, the road heads north and climbs into the green Rif mountains. You reach Chefchaouen in the late afternoon, settle into your guesthouse or riad, and take a first walk through the blue lanes while the light is soft.

Moment to remember: the first view of the blue town on its hillside.

Route	Chefchaouen (on foot)
Distance (est.)	None
Driving time (est.)	None
Suggested departure	Flexible
Meals included	Breakfast
Overnight	Chefchaouen
Pace	Easy to moderate
Good to know	The lanes and the Spanish Mosque path are steep. Wear shoes with good grip.

A full day to walk without a schedule. Go out early while the shutters are still opening, follow the blue stairways, and stop at Plaza Uta el-Hammam, with its red-walled kasbah and the Grand Mosque. The small shops sell woollen blankets, soaps, local cheese and crafts. Lunch with a local family and a Moroccan tea ceremony can be arranged on request.

In the afternoon, walk to Ras El-Ma, where the mountain stream leaves the medina. Near sunset, climb to the Spanish Mosque (about 30–40 minutes uphill) and watch the town turn gold, then pink, then blue.

Moment to remember: sunset from the Spanish Mosque terrace.

Route	Chefchaouen → Volubilis → Meknes → Fes
Distance (est.)	~280 km
Driving time (est.)	4½–5 h
Suggested departure	08:30
Leg breakdown (est.)	Chefchaouen–Volubilis ~190 km (3–3½ h); Volubilis–Meknes ~30 km (35 min); Meknes–Fes ~60 km (1 h)
Meals included	Breakfast
Overnight	Fes
Pace	Long but broken up
Good to know	Volubilis has little shade. Bring a hat and water.

Two very different pasts share today’s road. Volubilis comes first, a Roman city among the fields where columns, mosaic floors and a triumphal arch still stand. Give it about an hour and a half.

Then Meknes, the capital of Sultan Moulay Ismail. Walk through the great gate of Bab Mansour, sit on Lahdim Square and, if you have energy, see the royal granaries of Heri es-Souani. Lunch is in Meknes, and you reach Fes around 17:00 and settle into your riad.

Moment to remember: walking through the gate of Bab Mansour.

Route	Fes medina (on foot)
Distance (est.)	None
Driving time (est.)	None
Suggested departure	Around 09:00
Meals included	Breakfast
Overnight	Fes
Pace	Moderate (lots of walking)
Good to know	Wear flat shoes; the lanes are uneven. Dress modestly.

Fes is best entered with someone who knows the way. Your local guide starts at the Merenid Tombs, where the whole medina spreads out below like a sea of rooftops, then leads you in through a pottery workshop, the golden gates of the Royal Palace and the Bab Bou Jeloud arch, into lanes where copper, leather and spices are sold.

You pass Al-Qarawiyyin, one of the oldest universities in the world, seen from the doorway because non-Muslim visitors cannot enter, and finish on a terrace above the Chouara tannery, where hides are still dyed in stone vats. Dinner is not included; your guide can recommend a riad or traditional restaurant.

Moment to remember: the medina rooftops from the Merenid Tombs.

[caption id="attachment_9581" align="alignnone" width="1280"] A short camel ride across Erg Chebbi is manageable for most kids age 4 and up; overnight desert camps suit slightly older children best.[/caption]

Route	Fes → Ifrane → Azrou → Midelt → Merzouga
Distance (est.)	~475 km
Driving time (est.)	8–9 h
Suggested departure	07:30
Leg breakdown (est.)	Fes–Ifrane ~65 km (1 h); Ifrane–Azrou ~20 km (25 min); Azrou–Midelt ~115 km (1¾ h); Midelt–Errachidia ~150 km (2 h); Errachidia–Erfoud ~75 km (1 h); Erfoud–Merzouga ~50 km (45 min)
Meals included	Breakfast, dinner in camp
Overnight	Sahara desert camp
Pace	Long driving day
Good to know	Pack a small overnight bag, a scarf for wind and a warm layer for the desert night.

This is the longest road of the 14 days, so it is built around good stops. Ifrane comes first, a tidy mountain town with alpine-style roofs. Then the cedar forest near Azrou, where Barbary macaques sit by the road (please do not feed them). After a rest and lunch in Midelt, the road drops into the Ziz Valley, a long green ribbon of palms between rocky hills.

You reach Merzouga in the late afternoon, depending on the season. Change into desert clothes, climb onto your camel and ride into the Erg Chebbi dunes toward the camp. Dinner follows, then a sky with almost no light pollution.

Moment to remember: the silence of the dunes and a sky full of stars.

Prefer a shorter day? We can add a night in Midelt.

Route	Merzouga area (local)
Distance (est.)	~80–100 km
Driving time (est.)	1½–2½ h
Suggested departure	Before sunrise
Meals included	Breakfast; dinner in camp if you stay there
Overnight	Desert camp or hotel
Pace	Easy
Good to know	Wear closed shoes for the dunes and use sun protection.

Wake before sunrise and walk up a dune. Bare feet on cool sand and the first light on the ridges make the early start worth it.

After breakfast, visit the village of Khamlia, known for its Gnawa musicians, then spend time with a nomad family over mint tea to hear how life in the desert works. A traditional medfouna, the desert “Berber pizza” baked in the sand, can be arranged for lunch. In the afternoon, drive to Rissani (about 35 km, 40 minutes each way), a working market town where farmers and traders still do business the old way.

Back in Merzouga, rest at the camp or hotel and watch the sunset from the dunes. The second night is in the camp or a hotel, arranged with you; dinner is included when you stay in the camp.

Moment to remember: sunrise over the dunes.

Route	Merzouga → Tinghir → Todra Gorges → Kelaat M’Gouna → Skoura → Ouarzazate
Distance (est.)	~365 km
Driving time (est.)	6–7 h
Suggested departure	08:30
Leg breakdown (est.)	Merzouga–Tinghir ~200 km (3–3¼ h); Tinghir and Todra Gorges ~15 km (20 min); Tinghir–Kelaat M’Gouna ~65 km (1 h); to Skoura ~45 km (45 min); to Ouarzazate ~40 km (40 min)
Meals included	Breakfast
Overnight	Ouarzazate
Pace	Long driving day
Good to know	Bring a warm layer in winter; the gorges are cool in the shade.

The dunes give way to stony plains, then to date palms and mud-brick villages. At Tinghir the oasis opens up, and just beyond it the Todra Gorges narrow into a canyon with limestone walls up to roughly 300 m high. Walk between them and have lunch nearby.

The road then runs through kasbah country: the Rose Valley around Kelaat M’Gouna, where damask roses are grown for rose water (they bloom in spring), and the palm grove of Skoura. You reach Ouarzazate, Morocco’s film-making town, in the late afternoon.

Moment to remember: standing at the bottom of the gorge and looking straight up.

Prefer a shorter day? We can add a night in Tinghir or the Dades Valley.

Route	Ouarzazate → Aït Ben Haddou → Tizi n’Tichka → Imlil
Distance (est.)	~285 km
Driving time (est.)	6–7 h
Suggested departure	08:00
Leg breakdown (est.)	Ouarzazate–Aït Ben Haddou ~30 km (35 min); Aït Ben Haddou–Marrakech ~190 km (4 h); Marrakech–Imlil ~65 km (1½ h)
Meals included	Breakfast
Overnight	Imlil
Pace	Long driving day
Good to know	The Tizi n’Tichka road has many bends. Tell your driver if anyone gets motion sickness. Imlil is cooler than the plains, so keep a warm layer to hand.

If you like, start with a visit to the Atlas Studios film sets in Ouarzazate (optional, extra cost). Then comes Aït Ben Haddou, a fortified village of red earth. Cross the riverbed, climb through the lanes to the top and look over the valley the old caravans once crossed.

In the afternoon the road climbs the High Atlas to the Tizi n’Tichka pass (2,260 m), with viewpoints and a tea stop, then drops toward Marrakech. From there a mountain road leads to Imlil, a quiet Berber village at about 1,700 m and a gateway to Mount Toubkal. You arrive in the late afternoon. Dinner is not included; a home-cooked dinner with a local family can be arranged on request.

Moment to remember: the view from the top of Aït Ben Haddou.

Prefer a shorter day? Ask us about splitting the route with an extra night.

Route	Imlil → Essaouira
Distance (est.)	~240 km
Driving time (est.)	4½–5 h
Suggested departure	08:30
Leg breakdown (est.)	Imlil–Marrakech ~65 km (1½ h); Marrakech–Essaouira ~175 km (2½–3 h)
Meals included	Breakfast
Overnight	Essaouira
Pace	Moderate
Good to know	Essaouira is often windy. Bring a light jacket.

Come down from the mountains after a slow breakfast, then head west across dry plains dotted with argan trees. Stop at an argan cooperative to see how the nuts are cracked and pressed into oil.

You reach Essaouira in the early afternoon. Walk the medina’s blue shutters and small galleries, follow the ramparts above the Atlantic and end at the fishing port, where you pick your fish and have it grilled on the spot (meals not included).

Moment to remember: sunset over the Atlantic from the ramparts.

Route	Essaouira → Marrakech
Distance (est.)	~175 km
Driving time (est.)	2½–3 h
Suggested departure	After lunch
Meals included	Breakfast
Overnight	Marrakech
Pace	Easy
Good to know	Tell us in advance if you want a rooftop table for the evening.

A morning with nowhere to be: wander the lanes again, look into an art gallery or workshop you missed, or sit in a café facing the sea. After lunch the road returns to Marrakech.

The evening is yours: a first walk through Jemaa el-Fna, a rooftop dinner above the medina, or a quiet night at the riad.

Moment to remember: a slow morning by the ocean, then the lights of Jemaa el-Fna.

Route	Marrakech medina (on foot)
Distance (est.)	None
Driving time (est.)	None
Suggested departure	Around 09:00
Meals included	Breakfast
Overnight	Marrakech
Pace	Easy to moderate
Good to know	Ask before photographing people, and keep small change for tips and snacks. Monument entrance fees are not included.

Marrakech is best understood with someone who knows it. Your guide starts at Bahia Palace, with its painted ceilings and quiet courtyards, points out the Koutoubia minaret from outside, then visits the Ben Youssef Madrasa, a former Islamic school with carved cedar and zellige tile. The Saadian Tombs can be added if you like.

Then the souks. Instead of the busiest lanes, your guide takes you to artisan workshops for leather, metal and woodwork and explains how prices and bargaining work. The afternoon can be free, or you can visit Jardin Majorelle. In the evening Jemaa el-Fna fills with smoke, music and food stalls.

Moment to remember: the square at dusk, when the lights and the smoke come on.

Route	Marrakech (free day)
Distance (est.)	Depends on your choice
Driving time (est.)	Depends on your choice
Suggested departure	Flexible
Meals included	Breakfast
Overnight	Marrakech
Pace	Easy
Good to know	Book balloon flights early; they depend on the weather.

No plan today, only choices. Sleep in, or add an optional activity (extra cost): a hot-air balloon flight at sunrise, a Moroccan cooking class that starts with a market visit, a hammam and spa session, a henna session, Jardin Majorelle and the Menara Gardens, a dinner with live music, or a last round of souk shopping.

Moment to remember: whichever choice makes this day yours.

Route	Marrakech → airport
Distance (est.)	~6–10 km (Marrakech airport) or ~240 km (Casablanca airport)
Driving time (est.)	15–20 min or 3–3½ h
Suggested departure	Depends on your flight
Meals included	Breakfast
Pace	Easy
Good to know	If you fly from Casablanca, leave Marrakech about 6 hours before departure.

After breakfast there may be time for one last walk through the medina before your driver takes you to the airport, and your 14 days Morocco tour comes to a close. Safe travels, and we hope to see you in Morocco again.